As the demand increase for hand-held, portable communications devices such as telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and the like, so does the demand that such devices provide increased capabilities. For example, consumers are demanding hand-held devices that include telephone capability, paging, fax, wireless internet access, data storage, and so forth. At the same time, however, consumers are demanding that manufacturers continue to decrease the size of such devices.
Such hand-held devices typically include displays. A problem manifested by the decreased size of these devices is that the displays are often too small to provide much information, and the information that can be provided is usually not provided in a visually appealing manner. For example, a typical light emitting diode (LED) display or liquid crystal display (LCD) on a small, hand-held telephone or PDA can be unclear and might not be able to display an adequate amount of information. For example, such a display typically cannot display an entire Web page. Additionally, such displays are typically not full-color displays.
Typical prior art hand held communications devices include a housing that contains the processing electronics for the device. The housing is the part of the device that the user holds in his hand and, accordingly, is typically designed to fit comfortably into a human hand. The display is typically integrated into the housing. Consequently, the size of the display is limited by the size of the housing. Additionally, the manufacturer's ability to decrease the size of the device is impeded because such displays typically require a relatively large amount of electrical energy and, therefore, that the housing contain a relatively large power supply.
FIGS. 1A–1C depict several typical prior art hand held communications devices. FIG. 1A depicts a hand held telephone 10 having a housing 12 and a display 14 that is integrated into the housing 12. As shown, the display 14 is smaller than the housing 12. The telephone 10 includes a keypad 16 that includes a plurality of buttons that the user can use to operate the device. The keypad 16 is separate from the display 14.
Similarly, FIG. 1B depicts a personal digital assistant 20 having a housing 22 and a display 24 that is integrated into the housing 22. Again, the display 24 is smaller than the housing 22. The PDA 20 includes a keyboard 26 that the user can use to operate the device 20. The keyboard 26 is separate from the display 24.
FIG. 1C depicts a so-called flip phone 30 having a housing 32 and a display 34 that is integrated into the housing 32. As shown, the display 34 is smaller than the housing 32. When the flip cover 31 is closed, it covers a portion of the display 34. The flip cover 31 can be opened to reveal the covered portion of the display 34. Alternatively, the display 34 could be integrated into the flip cover 31 of the phone 30. As the flip cover 31 has a surface area that is no bigger than the surface area of the housing 32, the display 34 is smaller than the housing 32 in any event. The flip phone 30 includes a keypad 36, which is separate from the display 34.
In each case, the display is merely one of several elements that is integrated into (or otherwise coupled to) the housing of the device. In each case, the display is small, rigid, fixed in size, and generally rectangular in shape. Consequently, the displays are of limited utility in providing meaningful information to the user. Thus, there is a need in the art for intelligent multi-media display communications systems.